A Lapse in Fate
by It's Almost A Secret
Summary: AU. What if the meteorite had not hit on the day of Susan's wedding? What if the incident had instead occurred 8 years later, when she was already married with a child? The stakes are much higher this time.
1. Prologue

**Hey there, so it turns out my little oneshot will not be my only attempt to delve into the realm of Monsters vs. Aliens fanfiction. In fact, it seems I've actually decided to undertake the feat of writing a chapter story. As I'm sure you're not aware, as I've never written anything else on this account, I am huge on AU stories. I like to change one little factor and watch everything else go to hell. With that, welcome to my first attempt at a full length MvA fanfiction.**

**I'd just like to give you a bit of info before you start reading. Firstly, this is actually going to be very AU. I promise you it will not be the plot line of Monsters vs. Aliens with a kid thrown in for good measure. It may be a bit similar for the first couple of chapters, but I'm no repeat writer. Even in the scenes that are similar to the movie I have changed all of the dialogue and tweaked the action to make it my own. There will be very, very few lines taken directly from the movie. That said, all of the characters will be the same. That is, all of the same monsters with no OC monsters added in. Okay, so that's basically my little writer's intro into what you're about to read.**

**Let's see, what else? I'm sorry, I'm prone to extremely long author's notes in the opening chapter of my stories. Oh, here's my own personal little disclaimer. Whenever I write a multi-chapter fic I always write to chapter 5 before publishing to make sure I actually intend to stick with the idea. I'm currently halfway finished with chapter 6, so you're guaranteed to see up to that. I'm still writing at this point, so I intend to and hope to finish, but in the event something comes up or I loose interest in this story at any point, you were warned at the beginning that I can be a bit fickle at times.  
**

**I believe that's all I had to say. This chapter is just a bit of a prologue and not very action packed, but hopefully you'll enjoy it just the same. Please leave me a review when you finish, as they are my motivation to write faster and longer and will undoubtedly get the next chapter up much more quickly.  
**

Susan Dietl woke up to the blaring of her electronic alarm clock, the same way she woke up every morning. Without even thinking, she reached out her hand and hit the off button, groaning as she forced herself to sit up. Yawning widely, she turned to find her husband, Derek, still fast asleep on the other side of the bed.

Susan smiled fondly at the man across from her. In the brief moment of morning silence she found herself reminiscing back to their wedding day. It had been absolutely perfect. After all, what did one expect when so much planning went in to one single event? Still, all of the stress and toil had been worth it, and Susan had married the man she loved on a beautiful, sunny and cloudless day. Everything from the walk up the aisle to the kiss that had sealed their union had been just as Susan had imagined her wedding from the time she was a little girl.

Of course, the honeymoon that had followed left a bit to be desired, but that was mostly due to the sudden change in destination. Susan had been dreaming of Paris, but Derek had changed the plans at the last moment due to a possible job offer in Fresno. It had been a success, and a few months later the couple had moved from their home in Modesto to Fresno so that Derek could accept his new position.

The honeymoon hadn't been all bad though, and Susan had simply been happy to share it with her new husband. There had been romance as well, evidenced by the fact that Susan had returned home pregnant with their first child. Their little girl had been born about two months after the move to Fresno, and she had become the center of Susan's world.

Regardless, Susan and Derek's wedding had been eight years ago now and their marriage had been fairly stable ever since. Susan's life had since settled into an easy network of familiar routines. The first of these, waking up, just accomplished, she prodded her husband gently to get him up as well. Once he had complied and dragged himself out of bed, Susan journeyed down the hallway to rouse the other member of their household.

Stepping past the threshold of her seven year old daughter's room was like walking into a cacophony of pinks and purples. With the blinds still drawn, the dark room took on the strange mish mashed color of a melted rainbow ice.

Not missing a beat, Susan leaned against the doorframe and said, "Chloe honey, wake up or you're going to be late for school."

Susan smiled a bit as her announcement was met with nothing but a muffled groan of protest.

"All right, if you want to do this the hard way," she said, making her way to the window and wrenching open the blinds. The sunlight that flooded the room was so strong that Susan had to shield her eyes a bit, and yet the small lump on the bed only burrowed further under the covers.

Moving on to phase two, Susan yanked the covers off of the bed, revealing a small brown haired girl curled into a tight ball. Defeated, the girl grudgingly pulled herself out of bed, grumbling unintelligibly to herself. Susan shook her head slightly as she watched her young daughter disappear into the bathroom down the hall.

Susan smiled at the closed door for a few moments. It astounded her how quickly her young daughter was becoming independent. Back when she was in kindergarten, Susan had to help her with every step of the morning routine. Now, however; Chloe was already in the second grade and learning how to do many things on her own. Susan was extremely proud, if a bit wistful about her daughter's quickly fading childhood.

Snapping herself out of her reverie, Susan turned and went down into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Here she found Derek, who already had his morning coffee in hand and was immersed in the current events section of the newspaper.

"Morning dear," Susan said casually, leaning down to give him a peck on the cheek.

Derek looked up from his paper for a moment and smiled. "Is Chloe up?" he asked, taking a sip from his mug.

"Only after the usual struggle," Susan replied, cracking two eggs into a bowl by the sink.

Derek let out a chuckle. "That's your territory. I don't think she even hears me when I go in there this early."

With that Derek returned to his paper and Susan busied herself by putting two pieces of bread in the toaster. A few minutes later she was just placing the eggs and toast on a plate when a much perkier looking Chloe skipped into the kitchen.

"Well, looks like someone's finally awake," said Susan, placing the plate in front of the little girl as she hopped into the chair next to her father, "You know, if you don't start getting up in the morning you're going to start going to bed earlier."

This caught Chloe's attention, "Awww mom! I'll get up on time I promise!"

Susan smiled, "All right, but you'd better prove it to me missy." She whapped Chloe playfully on the head with the spatula, and the little girl giggled before digging into her breakfast. The three family members made small talk until Chloe's bus came and Susan ushered the little girl out the door with a quick kiss goodbye.

As Susan stepped back into the house, Derek was just washing out his coffee cup and gathering his papers.

"Well, I'd best be off too then. Busy day at the station, but I should be back in time for dinner tonight," he said off-handedly, putting on his hat and lifting his briefcase. Derek was a weatherman, and a rather popular one at that. He was also extremely dedicated to his career, and Susan tried to be as supportive of her husband as possible. After all, she loved him and just wanted him to be happy and successful. Derek did spend a lot of time at work, but to his credit when he was home he did spend most of his time with his wife and daughter.

"All right hon, have a great day," said Susan, giving him a quick kiss goodbye as he hurried out the door.

And so the morning routine had begun and ended the same way it always did. And the day would surely continue to follow the same pattern each day had for years now. Susan would go about tidying up the house, doing laundry, all of the usual tasks a good housewife was expected to take care of. Chloe would return from school around two o'clock and Susan would help her with her homework before sending her off to play. A few hours later, around six or seven, Derek would return home just as Susan was putting dinner on the table, and the three of them would eat together and share the day's events. Then after that they would all spend some time together before Chloe went to sleep and Susan and Derek had a bit of alone time.

This was the daily routine, and though it was a bit boring it was also comfortable and safe. This was the type of life Susan had always envisioned herself having and the type of life she'd always known she would end up with eventually. She had long ago convinced herself that this was exactly what she wanted. After all, she had a husband she loved and a beautiful daughter who meant everything to her. What would she possibly want to do to change the comfortable cocoon of a life she was living?

**Alright, and that's just a little bit of an intro to show you where Susan's life is at this point. I realize it's very short. I assure you that my chapters are usaully longer, but this is just the prologue after all. Well, I hope I've piqued your interest and I hope to get the next chapter up soon. Reviews only take a few moments and they'd mean the world, so please leave one if you've taken the time to read. Till next time. :)**


	2. In the Midst of Monotony

**Hello again. Thanks a ton for the reviews guys, good to know people are reading. This chapter is a little bit longer, though there's still not all too much going on. Still, I hope you'll enjoy it and leave a review afterward letting me know what you thought. I'm keeping the note short this time, so without further adieu, on with the story. **

As Susan had predicted, the day followed the usual pattern to the letter. She spent most of the morning cleaning, and then finally settled down around noon to have lunch and to watch a bit of television. She flipped through the channels disinterestedly. She paused for a moment on a news station, where the anchor was giving a warning about some meteor that was moving dangerously close to the earth. She watched the report for a few moments before losing interest and switching to a daytime talk show.

Around two, right on schedule, the doorbell rang, and Susan flipped off the TV and opened the front door for her daughter. A beaming Chloe stood on the front porch holding a paper with a large A marked at the top in red ink.

"I got an A on my spelling test!" she said proudly, waving the paper for emphasis.

Chloe was a relatively bright girl, and almost always brought home A's, with the occasional B tossed in of course. Susan worked hard with her daughter, making sure all homework was completed as soon as the girl got home and reviewing material for the tests. Extremely proud of her daughter's accomplishment, Susan said emphatically, "Honey, that's wonderful!" and kneeled to give Chloe a hug.

Chloe returned the hug eagerly, and with that bounced into the house, her little pink backpack dangling off of one shoulder. Immediately she made a move to dart away, but Susan beat her to the punch.

"Uh uh uh, missy," she said, picking up Chloe's sneakers from the doorway, "You know the drill."

Chloe stopped in her tracks halfway up the staircase, "C'mon mommy, can't I do my homework later?" she begged weakly, but her tone of voice said clearly that she already knew she was defeated.

"I don't think so. Now come on, we'll get this done quickly and then you have all night to play," Susan said.

"Okay," Chloe responded halfheartedly, making her way back down the stairs. Almost immediately, however; her mood brightened as she continued, "But can I have a snack first?"

Susan laughed. "All right," she said, tickling her daughter so that the little girl giggled and darted into the kitchen. "But then no more procrastinating," Susan called after her. She smiled to herself as she followed her daughter down the hall.

Truthfully, when she'd first become pregnant, Susan had fretted over the type of parent she'd become. After all, she was still a bit of a child herself, and had never lived away from her own mother and father before. She and Derek hadn't planned on having a child so soon into their marriage, and it was all just so sudden and unexpected. And yet, the first time Susan had seen Chloe's face she had known beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything would turn out all right in the end. Now, more than seven years later, Susan had become confident in and proud of her parenting abilities. She found herself practically moving on autopilot as she fixed a plate of cookies for Chloe and the two set about tackling the homework assignment for the day.

It was sometime later when Derek arrived home, long after Chloe had finished her math homework and was contentedly playing dress up in her bedroom. Susan was just taking a chicken out of the oven as he walked in, and she set it down on a potholder before moving to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"How was work?" Susan asked Derek as he hung up his coat.

"Not bad," he replied, "Same old same old really."

"Well, you just keep gunning for that promotion you want so badly then," Susan encouraged before placing the rest of the dishes on the table.

"I always do," Derek responded, taking a seat at the table.

Susan smiled before calling, "Chloe! Dinner's ready!"

"Coming mommy!" came the little voice from somewhere upstairs. A few moments later Chloe raced down the stairs, still wearing a blue dress, a bright pink pair of heels and a lopsided crown.

"Your majesty," Susan said exuberantly, laughing at the sight of her mismatched daughter. Chloe curtsied and then playfully stuck her tongue out at her mother before climbing into her seat.

Dinner went by quickly amidst the sounds of forks and idle chatter. Before long everything was cleaned up and the three family members relocated to the living room for an evening movie.

"Can I pick this time?" Chloe asked eagerly, eying the cabinet where the majority of the DVDs were kept.

"You pick every time sweetheart," Derek responded as he collapsed onto the couch. Susan took a seat next to him and he casually slung his arm around her shoulder.

"I know, but it's still polite to ask," Chloe stated matter-of-factly, before opening the cabinet to make her selection.

The family was halfway through "Beauty and the Beast" when Derek's cell phone rang and he left the room with an apologetic glance toward his wife and daughter. The two said nothing and simply went on watching until Derek returned about fifteen minutes later with a huge smile on his face. Susan gave him a questioning look, but he simply made a motion that he would tell her about it later and listened as Chloe prattled on about everything he'd missed, even though she knew very well they'd watched the movie at least five times.

Finally the last strains of music played as the Disney movie ended. Shortly after, Chloe was tucked in and kissed goodnight by both of her parents. That task completed, the two retired to the kitchen, Susan still curious about the phone call Derek had received earlier.

"So what were you smiling so widely about before?" Susan asked nonchalantly as she turned on the coffee maker.

Derek had obviously been bursting with the news, and said, "Okay, I didn't want to say anything in front of Chloe because nothing's final yet, but I've been offered a huge promotion!"

"Oh Derek that's wonderful!" Susan said proudly, throwing her arms around her husband's neck.

"I know! The boss has been taking a bit more notice of me lately but I never imagined…" he trailed off, still smiling widely.

Susan took a seat next to her husband, "So what does this promotion entail exactly?"

"Okay, get this, they want me to take a job as the weatherman in a major studio in New York City!" he said excitedly.

However, his big announcement obviously did not gauge the intended reaction, as Susan's face fell immediately. "Wait a minute Derek, New York?"

Sensing her concern, he said, "I know it'll be a big step Susan, but think of what this could mean!"

"What it could mean for you, you mean. What about what it means for me Derek, and for Chloe? I was apprehensive when we moved here from Modesto because we were leaving my parents and all of my friends but I did it because I love you and I want to be supportive. But Derek New York is on the other side of the country! We've barely settled in here and now you want to uproot our family and leave everything we're accustomed to?" Susan said, obviously less than happy with her husband.

"Susan, you're not thinking of the big picture-," Derek began.

Susan cut him off as she stood up from the table, "What big picture? Think of Chloe Derek. You want to take her away from her school and her friends? What about her grandparents and the rest of our family? We'll never see any of them if we move that far away!"

With that Susan left the kitchen and exited the house through the back doors. She stood in the backyard with her arms crossed, still very angry and trying to keep oncoming tears at bay. Perhaps she was being a bit irrational but this was her home and she really didn't want to leave it. It would have been one thing if Derek had wanted to move somewhere else in California; that she could have dealt with. This was just an insane thing to spring on her out of nowhere with no prior discussion.

Not paying attention to her surroundings, Susan jumped a bit when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and came face to face with Derek, who was at least trying to be understanding about the whole ordeal.

"Look," he said gently, "Just give the idea some time. I know it's a lot to take in at once, but I know once you have some time to cool down and get used to it you'll realize that this could be my big break. _Our_ big break. And New York is one of the greatest cities in the world, I'm sure you'd adjust to it in no time!"

Unable to say anything else to her husband at the moment, Susan merely nodded and turned away. Realizing there was nothing more he could do, Derek let his arm drop back to his side and turned to head back into the house. He figured it was probably better just to give his wife some space for the time being, so he left her where she was.

Susan wiped a stray tear from her eye gently and took a deep breath before crossing her arms again. She knew her husband was probably right; she almost never questioned him. This news was just a bit hard to swallow and she needed some time. Trying to keep positive, Susan told herself that she would surely see reason after a good night's sleep.

Susan turned around to see Derek headed back toward the house. She took another deep breath and was about to follow him inside when something strange caught her eye.

The sun had just begun to set, and so it was still fairly light outside. Yet a large meteorite still blazed brightly against the light blue backdrop. It took Susan a few moments to realize what the large mass was, and then a few more to realize it was headed straight toward her. She willed her legs to move, but it was as though they were frozen firmly in place. She had just managed to break from her daze and run no more than a few feet when the large object struck her from behind.

Then everything went black.

**And so it begins. The story should begin to pick up in the next couple of chapters, which will go up much more quickly if you take a couple of seconds to leave a review. It's like magic. Really. Ok, see you next time. =)**


	3. Feeling Fifty Feet Tall

**Wow, thanks a lot for such a positive response. I wasn't sure the type of reaction this story would garner but I'm very glad to see that a bunch of people seem to be enjoying it. Okay so it's a good thing I have a few chapters written in advance, because I'm experiencing severe writer's block somewhere around chapter 8. Nonetheless, I'm posting this chapter early because I got such great feedback for the last chapter. Anyway enjoy. :)**

Susan had always wondered about that stupid cliché that says your life flashes before your eyes when death is imminent. As it turns out, Susan learned, that's not exactly the case. Instead of seeing her own life in some sort of strange, choppy montage, she saw her daughter's life: Chloe's first words, Chloe's first steps, her first day of school. In the three seconds where Susan felt certain she was about to die, the only thought moving through her mind was that her daughter still needed her and, as a side note, that her husband did too.

Susan didn't even remember feeling the impact as the meteorite struck her. She was simply on her feet one moment and the next the world had gone dark. If you asked her at a later time, she honestly would not be able to tell you how she made it out from underneath the giant hunk of rock. By all rational means the rather large meteorite should have crushed her instantly. And yet, the next thing Susan knew, she was pulling herself to her feet, a bit battered and muddy but none too worse for the wear.

It took a bit of effort for Susan to get to her feet; her legs were shaking terribly and she was still a bit disoriented. A moment later a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and she looked up into the now-worried eyes of her husband.

"What happened?" she slurred, her vision was a bit blurred and she was currently seeing double.

"You tell me! Are you all right? I turned around right as that meteor hit and I thought for sure it landed right on top of you. You nearly gave me a heart attack," he said, letting her stand on her own once he saw that she was getting her balance back.

"I'm not sure what happened myself, it's all very strange. I guess the meteor must have hit right next to me and knocked me to the ground," Susan reasoned, shaking her head to attempt to rid herself of the shock.

Derek looked up to the sky, as if to comb it for any more falling debris. Seemingly satisfied that there was no danger at present, he said, "What are the chances of a meteor landing in our own backyard?"

"I know right? At least this will give the neighbors something to chatter about in the morning," she laughed, feeling measurably better. She glanced up at her neighbor's house, but couldn't see any of their windows from where she was standing. The backyard of the Dietl household was heavily surrounded by tall trees, to allow for privacy and give Susan more peace of mind when Chloe was out playing in the backyard. Offhandedly, she added, "I hope the impact didn't wake Chloe."

Derek laughed a bit, "I doubt it. That little rugrat could sleep through a firing squad."

"That is true," Susan responded, smirking slightly as she brushed a bit of dirt off of her blouse. All preceding animosity between her and Derek seemed momentarily forgotten in the wake of the scare the two had just experienced.

"Come on," said Derek after a moment's pause. Taking his wife's hand he continued, "Let's go inside and you can sit down. We'll worry about getting this meteor…thing out of the yard later. You're sure you're alright?"

Susan began to follow him, rubbing her head a bit. Truthfully, she'd begun to feel a bit lightheaded and strange somewhere in the last minute or so. Nonetheless, she responded, "Yeah, I think I'm-" Susan never finished her sentence. She stopped in her tracks, clutching her head as a strange sensation overcame her entire body.

"Susan?" Derek asked, turning around to see why his wife had stopped moving.

Susan couldn't tell what was wrong, but judging by the look of shock written on her husband's face there was indeed something strange going on. He took a timid step backwards, letting go of her hand in the process. Susan tried to ask what was wrong, but her throat had suddenly gone very dry, and she reached out her hand after him instead.

The events of the next few minutes would be the strangest Susan ever experienced in her life. Susan stumbled a bit, unsure of what she was feeling. She was a bit nauseous for a moment, and then it almost felt as if her body were…stretching somehow.

Susan blinked for a moment to try to clear her head. She could swear that everything around her looked somewhat smaller. It didn't stop there however, it seemed that everything around Susan was continuing to shrink. She watched as her outstretched hand became larger and larger in comparison to her surroundings, and then pulled it to her side in alarm. Derek was now taking panicked steps backwards, his face becoming paler by the moment.

Susan felt her head connect with something hard, and instinctively reached up to rub the forming bruise. It seemed Susan had hit her head on one of the taller branches of the many trees that fenced in the backyard. It was this incident that brought her to the realization that the world wasn't shrinking. She was _growing._

Confused and disoriented, Susan stumbled across the ever-shrinking backyard until she found something solid to steady herself on. It was with growing alarm that she realized this something was actually the roof of her house, which her own height now rivaled. Shocked, she stumbled back and watched as a panicked Derek rolled out of the way to avoid being crushed by her now-massive foot.

Feeling terrible and not in any way certain of how to react to this situation, she reached down to grab Derek and lifted him easily into the air. He looked as though he were about to cry as she brought him up to her eye level, and she barely registered that he was actually sitting in the palm of her hand.

"Derek, what the hell is going on?" she asked, though she was sure he knew no more than she did about the situation.

It seemed to take Derek a moment to find his voice, but he finally managed to say, "Okay, okay, don't panic, there's no need to-"

His sentence was cut off as the two of them looked in the direction of a third party entering the scene. Seemingly out of nowhere, a hoard of soldiers had appeared and smashed in the picket fence to gain access to the backyard. A gruff looking general was standing back and barking orders, but Derek and Susan were too high up to make out any of the words.

Unsure of who these men were or where they had come from, Susan took a large step backwards, effectively crushing a portion of the backyard fence. "Who are you people?" she demanded as they closed in on her.

The general she had noticed before now whipped out a megaphone, presumably so that she could hear him better, and barked, "There is no need to panic. Just put that man down and stay where you are."

Not listening to the order, Susan turned and readied herself to run. However, before she could make a move a rope shot up and wrapped around the arm in which she was holding Derek. Unable to steady himself, Derek teetered backwards and then began to fall. Susan made to grab for him with the other hand, but another rope shot up and incapacitated her. She could do nothing but look on in horror as her husband plummeted to the ground, but was relieved when the troops on the ground caught him in a net that had been held at the ready.

Once on the ground, Derek stumbled for a moment and then began to rush toward the man giving the orders. He didn't make it very far before he was seized by two burly looking officers and pulled away. They released him on the other side of the yard, where he began to argue animatedly, though Susan could make out none of what was being said.

Infuriated by the ropes tying her back, Susan threw her arms up, freeing herself instantly and sending the soldiers holding the ends of the ropes flying a few feet into the air. This move seemed to incite more panic and the general began yelling faster and louder. Susan didn't even have time to turn around before she felt a sharp pain in her side. Her hand came up instinctively and found a large syringe, which she pulled out and tossed aside.

Everything was spinning now. The ropes were still dangling from her wrists and a new group of soldiers seized them, but this time Susan had no strength to fight back. Soon she could barely stand upright, and she came crashing to the ground as a rope looped around her ankle and pulled her foot out from under her mid-step. Susan felt the wind go out of her as the ground shook with the impact. Immediately more ropes were tied around her, preventing her from getting back up. She struggled weakly for a few more moments but she was losing consciousness fast. Finally she simply gave in and let the feeling of nothingness take her.

Her last conscious thought was that she hoped the commotion hadn't woken her daughter.

**And there you have, now the plot's in motion. I realize this chapter is quite similiar to the movie, it's one of the most closely related. Quite honestly I couldn't think of a better way to subdue a giant than with a tranquilizer and rope. It's how they did it in Gulliver's Travels too you know. :) Well, the rope part at least. So anyway, you can blame my lack of imaginitive giant-capturing techniques for the similiarity, but hopefully it was still interesting to read. Please leave a review, because then I feel guilty for not working harder to break this writer's block. See you next chapter. **


	4. Monsters

**Hello again. Okay so once again thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, as always it's very appreciated. This chapter is both the longest so far and the one most closely related to the movie. There was nothing I could really change about this part except for the dialogue in order to advance the plot the way I need to. After this one the plot should begin to diverge a bit. **

**Anyway, hope you're all enjoying so far. Just a quick note, I'm headed to NYU for orientation for the next few days so obviously I won't really have time to write. Just thought I'd let you know so you don't think I've abandoned this little story. I've actually managed to get through my writer's block, so that's always nice. Anyway, on with the story.  
**

Susan Dietl woke up to the blaring of her electronic alarm clock, the same way she woke up every morning. Without even thinking, she reached out her hand and hit the off button. Except something was wrong this morning. Instead of connecting with the small machine, Susan's hand met nothing but air. Confused, she swiped at the spot again, but there was nothing, not even the wooden nightstand next to the bed.

Not sure what was wrong, Susan shot up into a sitting position. What she saw drove all drowsiness from her immediately. The beeping wasn't stopping because it wasn't from her alarm clock. Her alarm clock wasn't even here; wherever "here" was.

Confused Susan racked her brain in an attempt to figure out how she could have ended up in this place. In a matter of moments the events of last night came rushing back; everything from the meteor impact to her subsequent growth and then capture. She could feel her heart rate elevating as she relived everything all over again.

Susan took a quick glance around the room, trying to gauge whether she had returned to normal. There was not much available to go on. The room was cold, grey and metallic, equipped only with the uncomfortable table she was laying on, a blaring red light and that obnoxious beeping noise. It all looked normal size from where she was sitting, but without anything to compare it to there was no way to be sure.

Finally standing up, Susan took a last glance around and yelled out, "Hello! Is anyone there? Can anyone tell me where I am?"

She was not met with a response, but rather the sound of the makeshift bed she'd been lying on folding down and disappearing into the wall. Susan stumbled back, startled by the sudden motion. "Hello?" she timidly said again. She was unsure if there was a motion sensor or if someone had actually been watching her this whole time. The thought made her shudder.

Without warning, the room dropped out from under her and she was thrown to the floor when it stopped abruptly a few moments later. Susan panted from the adrenaline rush, thinking she was in the clear until the back wall began to move toward her. Startled, she backed up as far as she could to the other side of the room. She wasn't even claustrophobic, but the walls closing in on her was a bit much to handle. Susan pressed herself against the opposite wall, until it slid back and sent her tumbling to the ground.

Susan sat up and rubbed her head, scrambling forward a few moments later when she realized the far wall was still moving toward her. It caught up with her quickly and sent her sliding down a short hallway until she was deposited in a large, white and apparently empty room.

A bit discombobulated, Susan stood up and dusted herself off. For the first time she realized she was not wearing the ripped and stretched out clothes she'd had on last night, but rather a tight black tracksuit and a pair of sneakers. She honestly did not want to know how she'd been changed out of her own clothes and into these new ones, and so she decided it was best not to dwell on it for the time being.

Moving further into the room, she found out it was about as well furnished as the one she'd been in previously. It was an ever-so-exciting shade of white, and was so expansive that Susan had to crane her neck all the way back just to see the top of the ceiling. The only furniture present was a large table in the center of the room, upon which a bowl and spoon were set out.

Curious, Susan crept forward slowly, apprehensively calling out, "Hello?" one more time for good measure. There didn't appear to be anyone else around from what Susan could see, and she was about to resign herself to the fact that she was alone when a voice cried seemingly out of nowhere, "Watch it!"

Susan stopped in her tracks, glancing around frantically for the source of the voice. However, there still appeared to be no one in sight.

"Down here," the same voice called, a hint of irritation obviously present.

Susan glanced down, and was met with the sight of some sort of insect. Prone to a bit of a phobia, she shrieked and then scampered backwards, bumping into the table and nearly knocking over the chair that was positioned next to it.

"My, my," he began in his thick British accent, "I don't believe you're the one with the right to be shrieking, not after you nearly flattened me a moment ago." Obviously not fazed by the terror he was inflicting upon Susan, he scampered up the leg of the table and sat on the top so that he was closer to her eye level.

"You- You're talking," Susan gasped, pointing a shaking finger at the insect, which she could now identify as a cockroach. She was faintly aware that she was probably stating the obvious at this point.

"Yes well, you are too, now aren't you?" he responded, smirking.

Unable to come up with any sort of response to that, Susan stammered, "I-I…"

"Not to worry my dear," he said good-naturedly, "Just having a bit of fun with the new kid, if you will. The name is Dr. Cockroach, pleased to meet you."

"Uh…nice to meet you too," said Susan unsurely, swallowing nervously. Gaining a bit more confidence, she asked, "You wouldn't happen to know what this place is would you? Or why I'm in here?"

"Ah yes of course. This would be Area 51, holding place of "dangerous and untamable" monsters," he replied, wiggling his antennae slightly, "And as for why you're in here. Well, I should think that would be rather obvious."

"I'm sorry?" Susan said, unsure of what the cockroach was implying,

"You, my dear, are, from what I can gauge from this angle, nearly fifty feet tall. Give or take a few inches," he stated matter-of-factly.

Susan backed up slightly. In the back of her head she had known something was wrong, but hearing it confirmed had just brought on a whole new level of panic. "Fifty feet tall," she repeated in disbelief, "But how is that possible? Everything seems to be normal size…"

"How it's possible, that I couldn't tell you. But then, a lot of what you'll see in the place will appear impossible. As for the furniture, it's probable that Monger had everything scaled up a bit for you. He's very good at that sort of thing. Specially trained you know," Dr. Cockroach explained.

Susan was becoming more confused by the second. She said, "But…I don't understand-"

Her sentence was cut off, however, by a new voice stating, "Neither do I!"

Susan glanced around for the source of this new disturbance, and found it to be in the form of a strange blue blob that had appeared from around the back of the large cereal bowl sitting atop the table.

Not sure how to respond to that, Susan questioned, "You don't understand…what exactly?"

"I dunno," came the intelligent response.

"Don't mind him," said Dr. Cockroach, noting the puzzled expression on Susan's face, "This is Bob. He doesn't understand much of anything."

"I do not," Bob stated proudly, a huge smile printed across his gelatinous face. Susan wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to laugh at this, and so she opted to keep quiet.

"Now if only we knew where Link had gotten to," Dr, Cockroach mumbled, glancing around the large room.

"Link?" asked Susan, not following.

"Ah yes, I'm afraid there are a few more of us lurking around Area 51. Monsters I mean. You see, you're simply the newest addition to a group that's been rounded up over the years," he explained.

"But you don't understand. I'm not a monster. I'm just an ordinary person," Susan reasoned frantically.

"Well you see my dear, it all depends on your definition of "monster." At any rate, it appears you fit the general's, or you wouldn't have been locked up here in the first place. You'll have to take that up with him, " Dr. Cockroach responded apologetically.

"Hey, who's the- OW!," came a new, slightly deeper voice, which Susan saw belonged to a strange looking fish man…thing at her feet. It appeared he had been looking up at her as he walked and had tripped mid sentence. Trying to look suave, he hopped up onto the chair and then onto the table as though nothing had happened before continuing, "Just don't think you own this place just because you've got a little bit of height on your side. Ol' Link's got some fight in him too you know." He attempted to make what Susan assumed was a threatening face and punched the air with his right fist. In truth, Susan was glad at this moment that she was so tall, because if she didn't have height on her side she might begin to grow nervous around the strange group of characters gathering on the tabletop in front of her.

"Oh settle down you big baby," Dr. Cockroach told Link, "No one's buying your 'tough guy' routine."

Link merely stuck his tongue out in response.

A loud, roar-like noise sounded behind Susan, and she turned around only to come face to face with something very fuzzy. Craning her neck back, Susan came to the realization that it was actually the belly of a creature much larger than herself. Startled, she let out a strangled yell and darted away.

"Hey!" came Link's indignant protest, "Don't frighten Insectosaurus. He doesn't know what's going on."

"I need to get out of here," Susan mumbled worriedly to no one in particular. It was at that moment that a large set of doors on the opposite end of the room opened and a tiny man (at least from Susan's point of view) on a jetpack appeared through the gap. Susan recognized him vaguely as the general who'd been giving the orders when she'd been captured last night.

"All right monsters," he barked, "Back to your cells."

Grudgingly the three monsters on the tabletop complied, slinking down to the floor and into three separate doorways scattered throughout the room. Insectosaurus was lured through a much larger doorway by a large portable light. The doors snapped shut behind the four monsters, leaving only Susan and the general alone in the room.

"You must be the General Monger I've been hearing about," Susan began, "It's a huge relief to be talking to a real person actually, even if you are kind of tiny."

"Correction ma'am, you are actually just very, very large," Monger stated.

"Uh…right," Susan said nervously, feeling extremely awkward about the whole situation. "Can you tell me how this happened? Is there any way to get me back to normal?"

"I am unable to give you any sort of information at this time, but I assure we have top research scientists working to learn everything they can about your particular case," Monger replied, and with that he turned and motioned for Susan to follow him through the doorway.

Complying, Susan ducked her head and stepped through the threshold onto a moving conveyor belt. She waved her arms a bit as she attempted to catch her balance, and then managed to steady herself. She tried not to notice how small the people stationed along the sides of the room appeared, or that each and every one of them was watching her intently.

Instead, she turned to the general and said, "Look, I'm not really sure why I'm in here. I know I've got this weird…condition now, but I'm still just a regular person, not a monster. I would never hurt anyone!"

"Be that as it may, people tend to shoot first and ask questions later. If we release you from this facility you will incite a panic whether you mean to or not, and that does not look good for the U.S. government. The general rule is that people are not accepting of things they don't understand, and that's why it's my responsibility to see to it that you monsters stay securely locked up in here where you belong," Monger responded sternly.

"But you don't understand," Susan pleaded, "I have a life, and a family. Do they even know what's happened? Do they know where I am?"

Monger replied, "It has been explained to your husband that it is impossible that you not be allowed into the outside world and that you have been contained for both your own safety and the safety of others. To answer your other question, no. No one will be informed of your location."

As Monger was speaking, Susan noted that they had passed several cells that housed the other monsters she had conversed with earlier. Now they had reached a much larger cell, and Susan realized with a sinking feeling that it was probably meant for her.

"What about my daughter then? You can't do this. I have a little girl that needs me. She deserves to know where her mother is doesn't she?" Susan demanded.

At this, General Monger's features did soften a bit. "Terribly sorry ma'am, in all of the confusion I was not informed that you had a child. But still, for the safety of the general public it is mandatory that you remain at this facility."

At this point tears had begun to well up in Susan's eyes. This couldn't be happened. All she wanted to do was kiss her husband and hold her baby girl in her arms. "Are you trying to tell me that I'll never see my daughter again?" she asked softly.

General Monger sighed, "Look, I'll try to see what I can do, but I make you no promises."

Susan stepped into the cell, trying to fight back her tears at least until the general was out of sight. The doors began to close, and just as General Monger disappeared from sight he said, "Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention. The government has changed you name to Ginormica." And with that he was gone as the doors snapped shut, plunging Susan into darkness.

She placed a hand over her mouth and backed against the wall, tears flowing freely now. She cried herself to sleep that night, hoping desperately that she would wake up to find that all of it had been nothing but a terrible dream.

**Okay, so almost exactly like the movie. I know. I promise it switches up in the next few chapters, so bear with me. I hope you still enjoyed reading. If you did, please leave a quick review and I'll be endebted to you for it. Until next time. :)**


	5. Grasping at Straws

**Okay so I'm back with another chapter. Thanks as always for the awesome response. I'm really happy to see how many people like the fic. Anyway I just got home from my orientation and I'm extremely tired so I didn't proof read this chapter as rigorously as I usually do. I hope there aren't too many errors, I just didn't have the patience. Well, I'm talking too much, so onward. **

It was very strange and somewhat difficult for Susan to adapt to a new routine. It was as though she'd been cruising along in the passenger seat of a car and someone had stepped on the breaks. She was having trouble figuring out how to get herself started again.

The other monsters, to their credit, were not as terrifying as they'd first appeared. In fact, they were actually rather sensitive and supportive regarding Susan's plight. Truthfully, Susan was growing increasingly restless with each and every passing day. The only thing keeping her halfway sane at this point was General Monger's half-assed comment that he would see what he could to let Susan see her daughter again.

At this point, Susan had been at the facility for two weeks, and she had quickly learned that there was almost no change from day to day. There was pretty much nothing but the empty, white washed walls in the daytime and the cold metallic cell at night. The whole set up was terribly disheartening and, what was worse, the others had explained to her that no monster had ever escaped from the facility.

Susan had begun to lose track of the days of the week, but she was fairly certain today was Thursday. The morning found the five monsters lounging around in the common area as they always did. Susan sat against the wall with her arms wrapped around her legs, simply watching the other monsters engaging themselves in a game of cards.

After a few moments of observation, she stated offhandedly, "So, Monger hasn't been around since the day I came here. Do any of you have any idea when I'd be able to talk to him?"

"Oh, he should be around sometime today. He's always here at the facility of course, but he tends to pop in every couple of weeks to check in personally," Dr. Cockroach responded.

Link looked up from his cards for a moment to fix Susan with a concerned look, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"No," Susan said, trying her best to smile as though that were true. The four monsters had actually become a very unexpected group of friends to her, and she didn't want to worry them. "Just curious," she finished. Link and Dr. Cockroach didn't seem convinced, but returned to their cards after lingering on it for a moment longer. Bob seemed to have missed the short ordeal, and was staring intently at his blue blob of a hand, apparently unaware he had placed his cards down on the table and was no longer holding them.

Susan hugged her legs tighter to herself and sighed. In truth, she was desperate to talk to the general as soon as possible. She was just bursting with unanswered questions. Had they discovered anything that could provide information about why this had happened to her? Was there any way to cure it and return her to normal? Would she be able to see her husband and her daughter again? These questions just kept buzzing around in her mind to the point where she hadn't slept properly in days.

Even stranger were some of the other questions Susan had; questions relating to her condition. Sure she was nearly fifty feet tall, that part of it was obvious, but there seemed to be some other aspects of it that Susan didn't quite understand yet. For example, Susan had been locked up here for two weeks and during that time she had not eaten anything. Not that she hadn't had the option; there was food set out for her everyday. It simply appeared that she no longer felt hunger. She'd been trying to play it cool and act as though this were completely normal, but in truth it worried her, and she wondered what other things might have changed about her that she had yet to discover.

A few minutes later, Susan felt a weight on her foot and looked down to find that Link had taken a seat on her shoe. It seemed the others had abandoned their card game in favor of trying to figure out what had the giantess so down in the dumps. Even Insectosaurus had waddled over to see what was the matter, and Susan felt a faint smile pulling at her lips.

"C'mon,' said Link, "What's eatin' ya?"

At this comment, Bob's eyes grew rather wide. "Something's eating Susan?" he cried in alarm, "Oh my God, we've got to help her!"

"It's a saying Bob," Dr. Cockroach explained gently in attempt to settle the blue blob down. Link put his palm to his forehead in annoyance, but Susan couldn't stop herself from erupting into a short fit of giggles.

"It's okay Bob, I'm fine. Really, all of you, I'm okay. I promise," she insisted, still smiling faintly.

"Now now my dear, you underestimate my intelligence if you think I can't see through that pitiful façade. Now really, tell us what's wrong," said Dr. Cockroach, hopping up next to Link to sit atop Susan's shoe.

Seeing that she was simply not going to be left alone, Susan finally gave in and said, "It's nothing really. I'm just a bit homesick is all. I mean what do you expect really? I didn't exactly choose to be locked up in this place."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Link forlornly, "I don't think any of us would choose to stay here if freedom was an option." Insectosaurus roared in agreement in the background.

"It's not just that though," Susan continued, "I had a life before all of this. I still do. I have a husband, and more importantly, a daughter.

"Oh my, I didn't know you had a daughter," said Dr. Cockroach, his voice apologetic.

"I have a daughter too," Bob piped in.

"You do?" asked Susan, surprised by the news.

"I do what?" asked Bob.

"Have a daughter," Susan repeated patiently.

"What's a daughter?" asked Bob.

"Oh for the love of…. Look Bob, I ask that you please refrain from opening your mouth again unless you actually understand what is about to come out of it," said an irritated Dr. Cockroach. Susan remained quiet. It still astounded her that something as dim-witted as Bob could even exist, never mind function somewhat normally on its own. Bob merely fixed them all with an utterly baffled look, and so they opted to simply ignore him for the time being.

"As I was saying," Dr. Cockroach continued, throwing a pointed look in Bob's direction, "It is terrible that they're keeping you here when you have a family. It seems you had a bit more to loose than the rest of us, my dear."

Susan sighed, "That's why I need to talk to Monger. He told me he'd see what he could do to allow me to at least see my daughter again."

Link and Dr. Cockroach exchanged a look. After a moment, Link said, "Well, that doesn't really sound like Monger, but I hope for your sake that it's true." Susan only nodded in response.

As predicted, Monger did stop by a few hours later. Knowing that Susan wanted to speak to him in private, the other four monsters simply greeted him and went back to their cells early, leaving the two alone. Susan waited until they were out of earshot to begin springing her many questions on the general.

"General, have you found out anything about what's wrong with me?" Susan asked eagerly, praying for some sort of good news.

Monger's expression didn't shift as he answered, "We have found a few conclusive facts, yes. It seems that your entire body radiates a strange, unidentified energy, which is undoubtedly responsible for you change in height."

Susan bit her bottom lip, mulling over this new bit of information. It was a bit unsettling really, to know there was some sort of foreign substance in her that was making changes to her body. She supposed this energy Monger spoke of could also be the reason that eating no longer seemed a necessity. After all, what was food but an energy source? If her body was running on a different energy now, it made sense to assume she didn't need the added nutrition provided by a regular diet.

Susan absorbed the information, almost too afraid to ask her next question. Steeling herself, she took a breath and then asked, "Is there any way to return me to normal?"

Monger studied Susan's face for a moment, before responding, "Walk with me." With that he turned and directed her down the large hallway that led to her cell. Susan gave him a quizzical look but did as he requested.

There were a few moments of silence before Monger reinitiated the conversation. "Look, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but from what we know at present it appears that your condition is irreversible. This strange energy that I mentioned earlier seems to have fused itself into the very cells of your body. There's absolutely no plausible way we can remove it without killing you in the process."

Susan could feel her heart sinking, "So…what does this mean for me then?" They had reached her cell and she paused in front of it, unwilling to go in until she'd finished asking her questions.

Monger responded evenly "It means that you will be kept at this facility indefinitely. I'm sorry, but as I've already stated many times you cannot be released in your present state."

"But I've already told you, I'm not dangerous!" Susan argued.

"Don't you think I know that?" Monger snapped, briefly losing his composure. He took a minute to calm himself before continuing, "Christ, I know you're not dangerous. Hell, the lot of you monsters are probably less threatening than half of the average people in this world. The fact remains that civilians won't see that; all they'll see is well…monsters."

Susan could feel herself choking up, but she refused to show it in from of Monger. Taking a shaky breath, she asked, "And, what about my husband? And my daughter?"

Monger sighed, "I'm sorry. I told you I couldn't make you any promises and it was already highly unlikely from the start. We simply cannot risk any ordinary civilians learning about the existence of monsters, no matter how personally connected they may be to one."

In an instant Susan's tears turned to indignation. "You can't do this!" she began, taking an intimidating step forward, "So help me I will-"

Monger cut her off, "Kindly do not threaten me ma'am." Before Susan could respond he pressed a button on the back of his jetpack. Two metal claws shot out from behind Susan and grabbed her by the wrists. Ignoring her protests, they dragged her backwards into the cell until she was backed against the far wall. From her new position, Susan could do nothing more than glare at Monger.

After a stare off that lasted a few moments, Monger's features finally softened. His voice sounding at least a measure gentler, he said, "I understand that's you're extremely upset at the moment and that's where your anger is coming from. However, I must ask you to control your temper because, at present, things are what they are and there's nothing you can do to change that. I wish I could help you, I really do, but you need to realize that I must put the good of the general public before a single individual. I only hope that in time you will come to accept this."

With that, the doors slammed shut, leaving Susan alone. In the darkness of her cell, she felt more trapped than she ever had in her life. With absolutely nothing left to do, she slunk down to the floor and cried.

**And there's chapter 5. The Susan not eating thing was kind of me trying to make sense of that scenario. When you think about how much food Susan would need for one meal it just poses a huge problem. How would she ever find food when she wasn't in Area 51? Anyway, since food is just an energy source and she pretty much has energy fused into her body, I figured it wasn't too much of a stretch. Anyway, the story starts to pick up a lot more next chapter, so stick with me and I'll see you next time. :)**


	6. Fanning the Flame

**Sorry, I accidentally added this before I proofread and added my author's note, so I'm doing that quickly and then I'll re-post it. Anyway, this one's a little late because I'm stuck again. I've actually fallen a bit behind but I'm posting this chapter anyway so hopefully I can pick up the pace before I run out of pre-written chapters. Anyway, hope this chapter is a bit more interesting, it's when the plot begins to diverge from that of the movie. Enjoy. **

Susan lay on the floor of her cell, curled into a ball, for a few minutes after Monger left. During that time she could think of nothing but the one notion that she would never see her family again. Susan had never lived a hard life, truly it had probably been much more comfortable than most. She had never faced any sort of stressor, and being hit with so many in quick succession was beginning to take a toll.

Susan thought of Chloe. Had Derek explained to her what had happened? Had Chloe woken up and seen what had happened to Susan that night, or was she left in the dark as to where her mother was? As she thought about, Susan's self-pity turned to indignation. She clenched her fists. What right did these people have to keep her here? She was still a human being damn it, albeit a fifty foot tall one.

Susan stood up, her breathing coming quicker as she became increasingly infuriated. She paced back and forth in the confined space, feeling more and more like a caged animal.

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" she half-shouted to no one in particular. Overcome with the inescapable urge to hit something, she pulled back and then swung her arm as hard as she could, driving all of her rage into a single strike.

Surprisingly enough, that simple act did a lot to abate her anger, and she took a few calming breathes to try and relax. She made to turn away from the door, but did a double take when she realized the impact from her fist had actually made an imprint in the heavy steel door.

Bewildered, Susan stepped forward and ran her fingers over the dent apprehensively. She listened for a moment to see if anyone in the facility had heard the disturbance and was coming to see what it was. In all honesty, Susan wasn't even sure how many people remained at Area 51 after the monsters had been locked up for the night. She was fairly certain Monger went home until morning at least, as he spent almost his entire day at the facility.

About a minute passed and nothing happened, leading Susan to believe there was no one stationed in the immediate area. She took a moment to study the dent again, unsure how it had happened. Even with her size it shouldn't have been physically possible for her to put even the slightest mark on the thick, re-enforced steel door. She was certain the general didn't think it was possible either; he wouldn't have put in her in a cell that wasn't strong enough to hold her.

Susan recalled hearing from the other monsters that no prisoner had ever escaped Area 51. Was it possible that Monger and the other employees of the facility had underestimated her? Could it be that this enhanced strength was another part of her condition that she had not yet uncovered? Susan could scarcely allow herself to hope…

Deciding that she had nothing to loose, Susan drew back again and swung once more with all of her strength. To her delight, there was a satisfying 'clunk' as the metal gave under her fist. Emboldened by her success, Susan threw three more punches in quick succession. Finally, she backed as far up as she could and threw herself with all of her might into the weakened metal. The door flew off into the dark chasm just outside and Susan swung her arms wildly to steady herself before she fell in after it.

Susan flinched as the sound of the door crashing down reverberated in the large room, half expecting an alarm to sound in response to her break out. However it remained silent, and Susan let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. It seemed she truly had been underestimated, and the staff of Area 51 had been so sure of their cell designs they hadn't even bother to equip extra precautions in case of escape. Susan reasoned that this was the downfall of the arrogant.

Sticking her head out, she glanced in both directions outside the doorway. The cells were suspended high up in the walls, and the only way Susan would be able to more would be by inching along a rather narrow ledge that ran the span of the room. Taking a deep breath, she slid out the door and found her footing. With her back pressed against the wall, she sidled up the cell nearest hers. Here a stunned Dr. Cockroach stood staring out at her with his mouth wide open.

He seemed to regain his composure after a few moments and asked, "How on earth did you-"

"No idea, but I'm not complaining," Susan cut him off. The ledge was a bit wider in front of the door, and Susan managed to turn herself in the other direction. Grasping a metal bar along the wall, she swung herself out in an arc to gain momentum and shattered the glass of his cell easily with her fist. She smiled, feeling a lot more capable than she ever had in her life. Dr. Cockroach still looked astounded, but said nothing as he eagerly exited his now ineffective cell.

"Neither am I," he said, smirking as he left captivity behind. "But Susan, are you sure this is a wise course of action? If we break out of here we're fugitives. Monger will hunt us down and he will do everything in his power to see us back behind bars. Are you sure it's worth the risk?

Susan sighed, kneeling down to Dr. Cockroach's level for a moment. "I know Doc," she replied, "But my home, my life, everything I have is out there. Whether I'm captured again or not, I have to try while I have the chance or I'll never be able to live with myself. I'm sorry; I automatically assumed that the rest of you wanted to get out of here as badly as I did, but if you want to stay behind that's obviously fine. I can do it on my own."

Dr. Cockroach shook his head and said, "No, no my dear. If it's that important to you I'm behind you 100%, and I can guarantee that the others are too. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. This won't be easy. And it's not just a matter of getting out, it's a matter of staying out."

Susan nodded determinedly, rising back to full height, "I think we can handle it."

Dr. Cockroach smiled. "Alright then," he said, rubbing his hands together, "Then let's get a move on. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit anxious to get back out into the real world myself."

Susan gave Dr. Cockroach a grateful smile as two moved down the line to where Bob was held. Susan repeated the action with another blow from her fist. A shard of glass flew off straight into where Bob's stomach should have been located, but he didn't even seem to notice. Confused by the late night visitors, he asked, "Hey, what're you guys doing here? Are we playing a game?"

"No you idiot, we're escaping," Dr. Cockroach hissed. Glancing around, he added, "Keep your voice down.

"Oh," said Bob, clearly only half understanding, "I guess that sounds fun too." With that, he oozed over the broken glass and joined Susan and Dr. Cockroach on the other side.

Next stop was Link's aquatic cell. He didn't even have time to ask what was going on before Susan shattered the glass here as well, sending Link tumbling head over heels as the water rushed out through the newly made gap. Susan reached out her hand to catch him before he was washed over the end of the ledge. When the water had stopped flowing she placed him down gently at her feet.

Link coughed for a moment. "Geez can't you warn a guy? And when the hell did she become the Incredible Hulk?" he said, pointing towards Susan.

The others glanced around nervously, still on edge and certain they would be caught at any moment. "Tell you all about it later," said Susan, glancing anxiously from side to side.

Susan was still running on adrenaline at this point, but her greatest fear was that she would come to a door she couldn't open and that Monger would find all of them standing around the facility in the open come morning. If that happened there was no chance of escape, for she would certainly be re-evaluated and have her cell strength brought up to a more appropriate level.

The small group began to move again, but Link didn't budge. They turned around to give him a questioning glance and he point at Insectosaurus's cell. "What're you guys doing? You forgot Insectosaurus!" he exclaimed indignantly.

Susan sighed sadly, "Sorry Link, his cell is a lot stronger than mine. I couldn't break it open if I tried. And besides, even if I could we couldn't really take him with us. It'll be hard for me to hide as it is, but Insectosaurus will stick out like a sore thumb. We'd be captured almost immediately if he came with us."

"But…" Link trailed off, casting helpless glances between Insectosaurus and the rest of his friends. After a moment his resolve strengthened. "Alright then," he said, somewhat sadly, "You guys go ahead, I'll stay here with Insecto and take the rap for this in the morning."

The others were saddened, though not at all surprised, by the news and nodded their heads in affirmation of his request. Insectosaurus, on the other hand, seemed to have different feelings. Hearing what Link had said, he let out a long roar. The others looked toward Link, the only person who would have understood the seemingly unintelligible reverberation.

"No way buddy, it's no problem. Really, it's fine," Link argued with the large grub.

Insectosaurus roared again, seeming a bit more forceful this time.

For some unknown reason, Link's eyes began to well up. The others were a bit surprised, never having expected to see tears from a self-proclaimed tough guy like Link.

"You're the best, man. I swear, as soon as we're in the clear we're coming back for you. We're not gonna leave you here buddy I promise," Link said determinedly, placing a hand up against the this glass of Insectosaurus's cell. The others nodded in silent agreement.

Insectosaurus roared one more time, a bit forlornly, and motioned with his short arms for the rest of them to get going.

With a deep breath, Link turned around. "Alright," he said, squaring his shoulders, "Let's go."

**So yeah, sorry it's a bit short and there's not much action. This and the next chapter were originally one but it got so long that I chopped them into two and the next chapter ended up being a bit longer. Anyway I hope this new plot development will get you interested in keeping up with the story. I probably won't get the next chapter up until I've managed to at least write one more chapter. Reviews help with motivation, they really do, so please leave one if you have the time, especially on these next few chapters as I'm really curious to hear what you think of the new developments. See you next time. :)**


	7. Jail Break

**Wow, it has been a very long time since I looked at this story. It appears I was originally working on this during college orientation and now I've already finished my first semester. College is absolutely insane; I haven't really had a moment to myself. However, I'm currently home for the next three weeks and I've decided to revisit this in an attempt to see where I can go with it. **

**So I guess I'll give a bit of an explanation. I stopped writing this when I realized there was pretty much no completely plausible way to carry it out the way I intended. No amount of reworking was going to take out a lot of little plot holes, so I kind of just dropped it. However, I'm still kind of interested in writing this, so I'm going to attempt to just do it as realistically as possible. However, I ask you to suspend your disbelief while reading this story. There are going to be a couple of implausible situations, but all I can do is let you know that I'm aware and I'm doing my best to patch up the holes. **

**Well, this chapter was written a while ago, as were the next two. After that you'll have to wish me luck, because I honestly have very little recollection of what my original intent for this story was and I will pretty much be winging it. For now I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

In theory, breaking out of a top-secret government facility seems like it should be pretty easy. Sure, you smash in a few doors, barrel down a few hallways and you're home free. The idea sounds lovely on paper. In practice, however, it's quite a different story.

Not only had no preemptive planning gone into this little escape attempt, but Susan honestly had no clue even as to what direction they were supposed to be headed in. Despite this, she tried to appear as confident as possible as she pried open the heavy metal sliding door at the back of Link's cell that lead into the common area of the facility.

This happened to be where the four monsters encountered their first set back. As Susan used all of her strength to force the door open, a loud siren began blaring overhead. The sound was so loud and piercing that the four instinctively paused for a moment to clamp their hands down over their ears.

Well, they'd known it wasn't going to be easy.

The facility was significantly emptier than it was during the day, as undoubtedly most of the scientists and employees returned home each night. There were not even a large number of guards present in the nighttime hours, as there had never been a security breech in the fifty-something years the facility had been in existence. For this reason, the small group of fifteen guards who came running in response to the alarm seemed a bit confused and very ill-equipped to fight a team of monsters.

The next couple of minutes were a blur of action and sound. Thinking fast, Link managed to take out two guards before they'd figured out what they were supposed to be doing. The rest, however; managed to regain their bearings soon after and then the bullets began to fly.

Susan shrieked as the gunshots started, protecting her face with her arms on impulse. However she seemed to have momentarily forgotten that she was nigh on fifty feet tall, and was reminded as the small bullets began to bounce harmlessly off of her skin. Astounded by the ineffectiveness of the weapons, she took a few moments to gape in awe at how durable her skin had become.

The sound of Bob giggling could be heard somewhere off to right. He didn't seem to realize that the situation was serious at all, and was actually rather enjoying himself as he watched bullets disappear into his indestructible form. After a few moments he became intrigued by one of the soldier's guns and decided it would be an interesting thing to swallow. Robbed of his weapon, the soldier retreated backwards, where he was immediately knocked unconscious by Link's oncoming fist.

"Nice work Bob!" Link shouted over the commotion, "Keep it up!"

Meanwhile, Susan finally seemed to have grasped the fact that the soldiers' guns were ineffective against her. Gaining confidence in this, she rose up to her intimidating full height. The soldiers continued to fire at her, but seemed to be fast realizing that their efforts were futile. As Susan began to move in on them, several of the men began to back up, unsure what the giantess was intending to do.

Susan smirked slightly as the men finally gave up and dropped their weapons in favor of a hasty retreat. It was too late, however, and Susan caught up to them easily with a few long strides. Crouching down, she whispered a quick, "Sorry!" before flicking each of them on the back of the head as gently as she could. This still did the trick, and five soldiers fell unconscious at her feet a moment later.

In all of the confusion, no one seemed to have noticed that Doctor Cockroach had disappeared from the scene. Not strong enough to be of much use in a fight, he had instead done some quick thinking and climbed into a space in the wall. He had long known the ins and outs of the operation of the main power center of the facility, and had simply been waiting for a day to put such knowledge to use.

With skilled hands he made quick work of disengaging the alarm system, and the sirens ceased just as the last two guards hit the ground at Link's hand. Silence reigned in the room for a few moments as the four monsters waited for their heart rates to return to normal.

The small group glanced around at the forms of the unconscious soldiers scattered about the room. None of them had been severely injured in the fight, just temporarily incapacitated. The monsters felt bad to have done it, but honestly could not see any way to clear their route for escape.

"So far so good," said Susan, rising up to full height. The others caught up with her a few moments later.

Bob, still giddy from the fun he'd had moments before, babbled, "That was awesome! Let's do it again."

Dr Cockroach for once did not chide Bob, but rather agreed, "I must say I haven't felt this energetic in ages."

Link, suddenly all business, did not stop to chat but rather headed to the end of the room and peered cautiously around the doorway. Obviously deciding it was all clear, he looked back and motioned for the others to follow. Readying themselves for more action, they immediately complied.

The hall was darker than the main room, as the overhead lights had been switched off. The ceiling also dipped a few feet, and Susan was forced to crouch a bit as they made their way in. Halfway down the corridor they found a small map of the facility printed on the wall, which Dr. Cockroach memorized easily. Surprisingly enough, the group met no more opposition as the doctor them through the next few hallways. However, the silence only served to put the four of them on edge, as though they were expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, they reached the front hall of the facility. I was a large room with an extremely high ceiling and a broad representation of the Area 51 insignia printed across the tiled floor. The room was openly exposed to the outside by high windows that spanned the entire length of each wall. At the center was a pair of large sliding glass doors, the only obstacle between Area 51 and freedom. It was in front of these high doors that a small platoon of about ten guards was stationed, pacing back and forth. It seemed that they were there more to keep anyone from getting in than from getting out, but they would be a problem nonetheless.

Susan pressed herself to the wall in the hallway, keeping out of sight, and the others did the same. She simply studied the room for a moment, trying to determine the most logical course of action. The monsters were so close now it would be a sin to screw everything up in an instance of sloppy planning. The four of them would have to take out the ten guards as quickly as possible, before any of them had a chance to call for back up. They also had to be sure not to actually harm the guards; only knock them out temporarily to allow time for escape. After all, they were monsters, but they weren't inhumane.

Unfortunately, Bob didn't seem to quite grasp the concept of subtlety. Easily impressed and awestruck by his new surroundings, he moved into the open before the others had realized what he was doing. Susan made a swipe at him but it was too late.

"Wow, this place is biiig," he said aloud, oblivious to ten guards who had all turned to face him. Immediately ten guns trained on the blob and then the firing began.

"Aw crap," Link said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

With that, the remaining three monsters joined the fray. It seemed to Susan that the officers should have been given more effective weapons. The bullets posed no threat to any of them but Dr. Cockroach, who had hung back for that very reason. Link and Susan had skin tough enough to deflect the bullets and Bob was virtually indestructible. The three of them took only a few moments to subdue the ten soldiers, who were caught completely off guard by the ambush. However the victory was short lived, for the commotion seemed to have attracted the attention of several other guards stationed nearby.

Not wasting any time, the group of monsters rushed outside through the large glass doors, which actually slid open at their approach, much to Susan's relief. Shouts rang out as they came into view of the team of guards stationed right outside. There were a significantly larger number of soldiers here, and Susan cursed softly under her breath as the men began to close in.

In all honestly the monsters probably could have taken out the team of guards, but that wasn't the major concern. The problem was that it would be much louder and take a lot longer than fighting with the smaller forces they'd been faced with previously. The last thing they needed was to attract even more attention, or leave enough time for the guards to call for back up; or worse, call for Monger.

It was because of this that Susan made a split second decision to make a run for it. Ignoring her friends' protest, she scooped the three of them up and bolted. Bullets ricocheted off her heels, but Susan didn't take the time to stop and turn around. The guards stood no chance of catching her, for her legs covered a hug amount of ground with each stride. In a matter of moments Susan had sprinted to the edge of the facility's grounds, cleared the twenty-foot barbed wire fence, and disappeared into the night.

**And here's where the AU starts to kick in. I really hope there are still readers interested in this despite my long absence. If it's any consolation, I can at least promise you two more chapters, and I will attempt to continue writing in an effort to give you more. For now please leave a review and let me know what you think. It would really be appreciated.**


	8. On the Loose

**Okay, here's the next chapter. I've still got one more after this, but I'm unsure as to whether or not I'll be continuing this story. You'll probably notice the big problem I'm having with it while reading this chapter. I'll mention it at the end since I don't want to give anything away beforehand. **

**Also, I'd just like to state that I don't really know much about Fresno. I live in New York City and don't really know about anything that's not on the east coast. I did some mapquesting and a bit of research, but I'm ot sure how accurate my descriptions are. Pleas try and bear with me. **

**Well, that's all I have to say. Read and hopefully enjoy. **

Susan wasn't sure how far or for how long she ran after escaping the facility. She almost couldn't believe they'd pulled it off, and was so afraid that they were not yet in the clear that she simply willed her legs to keep moving. And move they did. Susan was faintly aware that she was moving much more quickly than an average person and, at her speed, would actually appear rather blurred to the human eye. It was several miles later, panting slightly but none too worse for the wear, that she finally stopped to get a better look at her surroundings.

Luckily Susan had detoured through the less populated areas and didn't seem to have been spotted. She had chosen to pause on a deserted side street that was protected on both sides by the cover of tall trees.

Stooping down, she gently lowered her three friends to the ground. Link and Dr. Cockroach both stumbled off, looking a bit dizzy and disheveled. Bob oozed through Susan's fingers, taking a few moments to regroup on the other side.

"That was some marvelously quick thinking Susan," Dr. Cockroach said, though his words sounded somewhat less than heartfelt as he clutched his head in an attempt to stop the world from spinning quite so quickly.

Seeing the disoriented state the sudden escape had left her friends in, Susan blushed a bit and apologized, "I'm sorry guys. It was kind of a split second decision. I didn't realize-"

"Eh, don't worry about it," said Link, waving his hand as if to say the whole affair was no big deal. Glancing around he asked, "So, uh…where are we anyway?"

Susan rose up to full height to better survey the area. "Well, I didn't really get a great look around while I was running, but I know for sure we're still in California."

"I take it you're from here then?" asked Doctor Cockroach.

"Mhmm," Susan replied, "Modesto. Well…Fresno actually. I suppose it's all the same anyway."

"I see. I'm a Georgia man myself. Came over from London quite a few years back," Dr. Cockroach said. He smirked a bit when Susan fixed him with a quizzical look. "Well don't look so shocked," he said, "I was human once myself you know."

Susan looked utterly baffled by the news. "You were?" she asked, "What happened?"

"Ah, laboratory accidents, science experiment gone wrong, it really is a story for another day," Dr. Cockroach replied off-handedly.

Susan was still trying to take in the fact that she was not the only monster who had once been human. The knowledge changed the way she looked at her friends ever so slightly. Turning to Bob and Link, Susan asked, "And what about you two? Were you ever…"

"Human?" Link finished, "Nah, not me. Frozen in ice. I'm the Missing Link, remember?"

"I was a duck once!" Bob piped in, "Or was it that I saw a duck once?" The blob looked so utterly perplexed by his own question that Susan did not inquire further.

Tucking this new revelation away for a more appropriate time, Susan returned to the matter at hand. "I can kind of see a city nearby," she said, squinting her eyes in the darkness as she gazed over the treetops, "I think we're somewhere near San Jose."

"So, what's the plan exactly?" asked Link.

"I'm not sure," Susan admitted, "I really hadn't planned this far in advance. I'm honestly still surprised we made it out of there."

"I know what you mean," Link agreed, gazing back in the direction they'd come from.

Susan continued, "Well, I need to go home and talk to my family. I need to see my daughter and try to convince my husband that I'm not really a monster. God only knows what he thinks of me after what happened the last time he saw me. You guys don't have to come with me if you don't want to. Would you rather we split up?"

"And go where?" Dr. Cockroach asked, "No, I think it would be best if we all stayed together. Especially since we're all wanted fugitives now. There is strength in numbers after all."

"I guess you're right," Susan said. In truth it had really just hit her that the four of them were outlawed. It was going to be extremely difficult to keep hidden and not cause a commotion. Susan really hoped they wouldn't run into trouble. Susan wasn't in the mood for more fighting and she _really_ wasn't in the mood to be dragged back to Area 51 after all of the hard work that had gone into escaping. She continued, "Well, we're not too far from Fresno. Especially not if we move quickly. The trick is going to be staying hidden once we get there. We need to go now, while we still have the cover of darkness."

The other three monsters nodded in agreement. With that, Susan scooped her friends back up and began moving at a more cautious pace than before.

The group drew close to Fresno in a relatively short period of time. Susan was careful not to even draw close to any cities or towns, but instead took a bit more time on a detoured route that kept them well hidden. By the time they reached Fresno it was somewhere around two thirty in the morning, and the streetlights blazed dimly on an otherwise dark night.

Susan said a short prayer before creeping closer to the city. She was silently thankful that the jumpsuit she was wearing was black, as it afforded more camouflage. She was extremely careful not to make a sound as she made her way down the darkened streets. Fresno was not exactly known for its bustling nightlife, and the streets were nearly deserted at the late hour. Whenever Susan spied an oncoming car in the distance, she made certain to duck out of sight until it passed. She sincerely hoped that none of the local residents decided to glance out their windows.

Finally she made it to her destination: Roeding Park. Susan was very familiar with it, as she had often visited with Derek and Chloe. It was not gigantic but it was large enough to hide the small group. A bonus was that it was closed at this hour and guaranteed to be deserted. If anything it would at least afford the monsters a hiding place for the night. The treetops did a decent job of casting shadows and at least provided the cover of darkness.

"This will do nicely," Doctor Cockroach stated as he surveyed the hiding place, "At least for the night."

"Okay, you guys stay here. I need to get to my house now. I can't wait until morning or I won't be able to get there without being seen."

"We'll come with you," Link suggested, hopping off the small rock he'd been sitting on.

"No, just wait here. It'll be hard enough for me to get around by myself. Not to mention you might freak out Derek and Chloe. No offence," she stammered, feeling bad for having said it.

"Oh, alright," Link said, deflating a bit.

"Aw, come on," Susan said, "You know I don't mean it that way. This is just something I need to do on my own."

"We understand perfectly," Dr. Cockroach responded cheerily. Throwing a pointed looking in Link's direction, he added, "Don't we Link?"

"Huh?" Link said, confused. Seeing the look on Dr. Cockroach's face, he stammered, "Oh, right. No it's fine Susan really."

"Okay," Susan replied, grateful to her friends for being understanding, "I'll be back after I get this sorted out."

With that Susan turned and began to walk in the direction of her house. In truth she was a bit worried about what Chloe would think of her, and extremely nervous about how Derek would react. She really hoped it wouldn't be with fear. She didn't know if she could bear it if her own family turned their backs on her.

"Give Derek a kiss from me!" Bob called at her retreating back. She pretended she hadn't heard.

Susan tried to move even more carefully than before as she made her way toward her house. It was a quiet suburban neighborhood and not too densely populated, but the very familiarity of everything set her on edge. Being back in her old neighborhood had really set things in perspective. It was one thing to tower over the treetops, but to have an aerial view of your daughter's preschool was measurably more disconcerting.

Susan paused for a moment by a house a few blocks down from her own. It was a regular sized home, and the roof came up to somewhere just above Susan's waist. It was all so surreal that for a few moments Susan felt she was lost in a dream. Kneeling, she gazed at her reflection in the second story window.

She was a bit startled by how different she looked. Susan hadn't been able to look into a mirror since the day of her accident, as there were a limited number of reflective surfaces available at Area 51. It wasn't just the physical appearance that differed either, though her now silver hair was a strange sight. Of course Susan had known about the change; it had been a tad startling when she'd caught a glimpse of her new hair color when she'd brushed a few stray locks from her face. No, it wasn't just this that made Susan appear different to her own eyes. It was something deeper; something she couldn't quit put her finger on at the moment.

Breaking out of her daze, Susan stood and turned to go. Not paying enough attention, she stumbled as her foot connected with the blue mini van parked in the driveway. In a panic, Susan threw all of her weight onto her other foot to avoid crushing the vehicle. She was successful, but even the slight tap from her other foot was enough to set off the car's alarm.

"Crap!" Susan mumbled under her breath as she caught her footing. She darted away as quickly as possible, hoping desperately that the car's owner hadn't been awakened in enough time to see the giant woman fleeing the scene.

Susan finally stopped in front of her own house, clutching her chest as the adrenaline ebbed. Carefully, she crouched down in the backyard in order to obtain the cover of the trees. If seeing her neighbor's house had stunned Susan, it was nothing compared to the strange new view of her own home. Being back where the whole nightmare had started had suddenly made everything all too real for Susan, and she could feel tears stinging her eyes as she sidled up to her daughter's window.

Edging closer, Susan brought one eye up to the window and peered into her daughter's room. It looked just as it had the last time she had seen it. Susan's heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she caught sight of the small girl curled up in her bed across the room.

Moving as if in a trance, Susan placed a hand against the windowpane. The window was locked, but broke open easily under her fingertips. Rising onto the balls of her feet, she reached her hand through the gap and gently lifted the small girl from her bed.

However, Susan was broken from her trance-like state quit abruptly when said small girl let out an ear-piercing shriek. Unsure of what was going on and knowing only that she was being taken from her bed in the middle of the night, Chloe had reacted accordingly.

Susan froze in place for a moment, unsure of what to do. In honesty she wasn't sure why she had chosen this particular course of action in the first place. She hadn't really been thinking clearly. She felt like a cornered animal. She didn't want to run without seeing her family, but she couldn't stand here with Chloe shrieking or someone was bound to notice.

Susan turned as a frantic male voice floated down the hall. "Chloe honey? Are you alright?" A light came one and Susan could hear footsteps fast approaching.

Susan's heart began to beat quickly. She wanted to see Derek, but a part of her was absolutely terrified now that she was so close. She also didn't want him to see her like this, holding a terrified and crying Chloe. It certainly wouldn't do wonders for her anti-monster image.

And so, as Derek's footsteps grew ever closer, Susan made a split second decision: she bolted from the scene. Hardly paying attention to where she was going, she tried to be as careful as possible not to draw any attention to herself. She barely registered that a terrified Chloe was still cupped in her massive hands.

**Okay, so are you seeing the issue? It is extremely hard to hide a 50ft tall fugitive in plain sight. You'll probably have to suspend disbelief to accept that no one saw Susan wandering around Fresno at 2:30 in the morning. That's why I may not continue, because I hate having little plot holes like that. **

**I guess review and let me know what you think. If you like to story enough that you'll accept my little discrepancies I can take a shot at continuing. If it's going to bother the readers I won't do it. So review and let me know what you think. **


	9. Setbacks

**Hey, so as promised I have posted up to chapter 9. This is the last chapter I had prewritten before posting this story. I haven't really written anything else as I haven't really had the time or the motivation and there isn't much response to this story anymore anyway. I'm not calling it discontinued, as I have a tendency to pick up old stories at random times, but as of now I am not promising any more updates. Here's the next chapter:**

Susan bolted away from her house as quickly a possible. She was ashamed of herself for her cowardice, but she had panicked. She was absolutely terrified that her husband wouldn't accept what had happened to her. But that was ridiculous wasn't it? He loved her and would just be thrilled to see that she was safe…right?

Susan didn't slow to a halt until she was back under the cover of trees in the park. She began searching for her friends in the darkness but paused when she took notice of a strange sound in the otherwise silent area

With alarm, she registered that her hands were still cupped around something. She gasped as she realized that something was actually her young daughter, whom Susan had never placed back in bed.

As Susan lifted her top hand she realized the small girl was crying hysterically and her heart nearly broke. Chloe looked up and obviously didn't recognize Susan's face in the darkness. The girl shrieked as she took in where she was and then yelled out, "Help!"

"Oh my-" Susan gasped, eyes wide, "Chloe!"

The small girl stopped her screaming and let out a strangled hiccup. Looking confused and terrified at the same time, she half-sobbed, "How do you know my n-name?"

Susan's eyes welled up a little as she looked at her daughter. "Chloe," she said gently, "Chloe shhhh, it's okay. It's mommy." To back this point up, she stepped out from under the trees into the light and lifted Chloe up a little higher.

Chloe scrambled backwards on Susan's palm. She still looked frightened but had fallen silent and was gazing up at Susan with eyes the size of saucers.

"Oh my goodness sweetheart it's so great to see you. I've missed you so much," Susan gushed.

The seven year old just stared up at her mother in complete disbelief. Apprehensively, she asked, "Mommy?" Susan made no response, but she smiled as widely as she could at her daughter. Realization seemed to dawn on Chloe that, somehow, this really was her mother. Unsure of what else to do, she threw her arms around Susan's thumb and shouted, "Mommy!"

Elated, Susan lifted Chloe up to her cheek, the closest thing to a hug she could manage. There was a moment of silent happiness at the reunion before Susan brought Chloe back to eye level.

Though she was now smiling, the girl still seemed very confused. In her blunt, seven-year-old way, she stated, "You're really, really big mommy."

Susan half-smiled at the comment, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Holding her daughter in her palm was disquieting to say the least. After a moment's pause Susan asked, "Did Daddy tell you anything about what happened?"

Chloe shook her head. She still seemed rather scared but the relief that she was with her mother seemed to have overshadowed it a bit for the time being. "Daddy just said you had to go away for a while and he didn't know when you'd be back. I asked him about it lots of times but he wouldn't tell me anything. It was really scary," Chloe said sadly.

Susan found it odd that Derek hadn't explained anything to Chloe, but then she also supposed there were certain restrictions on how much confidential information could be divulged to a seven year old. And who knew what types of things General Monger had said to Derek after Susan had been captured. She really wished now that she'd stayed to talk to Derek. She needed to know how he was dealing with this whole situation.

Susan sniffled a bit before responding, "It's okay honey. I'm so sorry I scared you like this. I didn't mean to take you out of your bed."

Chloe only nodded and said, "That's okay mommy." Apparently unsure of what else to do, Chloe felt silent. After a moment she shifted to the edge of Susan's hand and glanced over the edge. Obviously frightened by the height, she yelped and threw herself back into the center of Susan's palm.

Feeling bad, Susan carefully sat down and then lowered her hand to the ground so that Chloe could step off. The little girl seemed grateful to be back on the ground and simply stared up at her mother in awe.

There were a few moments of awkward silence, which were abruptly interrupted by the rustling in a group of nearby bushes and the sound of aggravated voices. Obviously growing uneasy, Chloe backed up in an attempt to hide herself behind one of Susan's shoelaces. Susan knelt down next to her in response.

"-standing on my tail!" were the only intelligible words uttered before a rather agitated Link came stumbling toward them. Chloe let out a yelp at his appearance and pressed herself closer to Susan's shoe. Dr. Cockroach and Bob were soon to follow, though none seemed to have noticed the little girl's presence.

Seeing the frightened state that Chloe was in, Susan cleared her throat to stop her friends from bickering. Two and a half pairs of eyes swiveled in Susan's direction and the three monsters fell silent as they spotted Chloe.

"Guys, this is my daughter, Chloe," Susan said sheepishly, using one of her fingers to gently urge the little girl forward. "Chloe, these three are friends, they won't hurt you."

Susan was doing her best to be convincing, but all Chloe saw were fangs and antennae and she, quite frankly, found it terrifying. She clung to Susan's finger for dear life, looking pitiful in her pink feety pajamas.

The other three monsters were baffled, to say the least, and they stood staring with their mouths agape for a few moments. Bob, who had seen few humans and even fewer children in his lifetime, regained his composure first.

"Wow…are you like a little Susan?" he asked, sounding utterly bewildered.

When Chloe made no response but a soft whimper, Susan answered, "She's my _daughter_ Bob. I've told you about her a million times."

"Oooooooh," he answered, though Susan's comment had appeared to do nothing to alleviate his obvious confusion.

Dr. Cockroach stepped forward next. Straightening up, he said, "Dr Cockroach PHD, pleased to make you acquaintance."

Yet Chloe only slunk away further. Susan, noticing this, said, "Chloe honey, what's the matter?"

Chloe peaked up at her mother and in a small voice said, "Bugs are yucky."

"Chloe!" Susan chided, embarrassed by her daughter's statement, "That's not-"

But Dr. Cockroach cut her off, "No, no quite alright. I've gotten used to this type of reaction by now." The doctor seemed composed and sincere, though his antennae did droop noticeably with the statement.

"The name's Link, kid," said Link, extending his hand in an effort to succeed where Doctor Cockroach had failed. Chloe still did not budge.

It was not until Bob oozed forward that Chloe made any sort of response at all.

"He looks like playdoh!" she remarked to Susan, her lips betraying the faintest hint of a smile.

"No, no my name's Bob!" he replied, "But who is this Play-doh? Is he a blob too? I've never met another one."

Chloe giggled a little bit. Perhaps it was because Bob's appearance was not nearly as intimidating as the others', but she seemed to be less frightened by his presence. Link and Doctor Cockroach both looked a bit miffed at being outshined by the blue blob.

While Chloe was distracted, Doctor Cockroach turned his attention to Susan, "Not to put a damper on your reunion Susan, but are you sure it was wise to drag a child into this?"

Susan's face fell at the doctor's words, "No it was a really stupid move on my part Doc. I hadn't meant to bring her here in the first place. I sort of panicked and forgot she was with me."

Doctor Cockroach nodded in understanding before continuing, "I'm just not so sure it's safe for her to be in our company right now. Chances are that Monger and most of the military have already mobilized and begun searching for us."

"I know what you mean Doc, but there's no way I can bring Chloe home right now. Derek has definitely noticed she's missing already and he'll have called the police." Susan replied, biting her lip.

"It seems this situation is a sticky one," Doctor Cockroach said, "At any rate we certainly can't stay here. If what you say is true there are going to be people combing this area shortly. We need to get out before any of the higher ups get word of this little incident."

Susan asked apprehensively, "But where can we go?"

"I'm not sure, but anywhere is better than here," Doctor Cockroach responded.

Susan fell silent for a few moments before an idea seemed to strike her. "I suppose there is somewhere we can go. At least just until the hype dies down here."

"Excellent," said Doctor Cockroach with some measure of relief. "Let's make haste then."

With that Susan scooped Chloe up gently in one hand and used her other arm to carry her three friends. The trees in the park rustled behind Susan as she once again disappeared into the night.

**And there you have it. I do have the ideas about where this story will be going; it's just a matter of getting them written down. If you'd like to see more chapters then leave a review. Reviews are positively correlated to my motivation to write. I'll do my best to continue, as I would like to get this story finished at some point. Thanks for reading so far; hopefully I can get another chapter up soon.**


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